A Mother's Intuition
by Temperance-is -a -virtue
Summary: Nora was the first one to see that Casey and Derek had a UST thing going on. But she started to regret doing something about it.
1. Chapter 1

Nora lay back in bed, but she was miles away from restful sleep. She looked up at her bedroom ceiling, the kitchen floor, and reevaluated her skills as a mother.

Did she just do that? Did she just move her teenage daughter into a room next to her stepson who was a known player, then move herself to a room two floors down? After she had witnessed that fight, the one where the air crackled and she was sure her hair was on end from all the sparks flying between her children? No wonder she couldn't sleep, and no wonder her husband was vibrating like a cellphone beside her.

"I can't believe we agreed to this," she said to him, "I mean, how many things could possibly go wrong with this scenario?"

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," George reassured, though she could see he needed reassuring himself, "I have Edwin on the walkie-talkie and he's camped out in front of their rooms. Anything happens, he'll tell me," he waved the walkie talkie at her, and Nora had to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

"Georgie, you know this won't work. We can't have Edwin camped out in front of their rooms for the next however many years. He has school."

"He can alternate with Lizzie and Marti," George said, as if that solved all their problems.

Nora loved the man, but right now, he was failing the Parenting Test even worse than she was.

"What we need to do is sit them down and talk to them. Drill into them the importance of family, and why anything they do is going to have negative effects. I know Casey is reasonable, and I'm sure Derek is too."

"When he needs to be. And he knows how to put family first," George admitted, "Don't tell him I said so, but he's the one who held us all together after Abi left."

Nora snuggled closer to him. She knew the whole story by now, about the divorce and the confusion of especially the younger kids. She had been hurt by Dennis, but it had been different. She had seen the end coming from a mile away.

"We'll talk to them tomorrow," she planned, "Tell Edwin to go to bed."

So the next morning, George and Nora sat their two eldest children down and went over everything; the boundaries that should not cross, the importance of family and the need for no grandbabies at this present time. There was also the emphasis on family and how it was important that both of them maintain the status quo.

Nora felt good at least that their faces reflected disgust the entire time their parents were talking.

….

It was frustrating.

And a little bit creepy.

But mostly frustrating.

Nora watched Casey and Derek fight for dominance, get overly involved with each other, bad mouth each other and become each other's best friend over the years. And she came to realize that out of all the boyfriends and girlfriends they trucked in and out, the best person for each of them was each other.

Yes, she knew that she was the one who told them not to look sideways at the other for too long, and she had meant it, but watching them fight and curse and obsess and worry lead her to only one conclusion.

They were in love.

This morning, as she stirred her tea, watching her daughter wipe ketchup off her stepson's face, she wondered if the only thing stopping them from being together was her.

"Thank you, faithful servant," Derek grinned, causing Casey to fling the paper napkin at his face.

That had nothing to do with her.

"Remember the presentation for Mrs. Brooks this morning!" Derek shouted at her as she ran up the stairs.

"And you remember to avoid pranking Max!" Casey yelled back.

Nora saw the satisfied smile on Derek's face as he took his plate to the sink and hated having to be the parent in this situation.

"Since when do you care if Casey brings in her assignments?"

Derek looked at her as if he forgot she was there, "Since Mrs. Brooks has been picking on Casey. Not anything to worry about," he said, predicting the Mommy-rant that was about to come out, "Just Casey being her Keener self and Mrs. Brooks trying to push her limits. Brooks hates Keeners."

Nora nodded. It was Big Brother stuff. But not really.

"And what is this about you playing pranks on Max?"

"Max is an idiot, he plays football and he thinks he can walk on water. He deserves it." Derek smiled.

She watched him walk up the stairs, then head back down behind Casey, both of them armed for school and arguing about absolutely nothing. Derek was flicking Casey's ear.

"Ow! Stop, you idiot! Bye, Mom!"

"Bye, Nora!"

Nora wiggled her fingers at them. "Denial isn't a river in Africa, you know," she muttered.

….

The family stood there while Casey and Derek argued.

Nora felt like this was the summary of her life for the last four years. Lizzie and Edwin's eyes were doing cartwheels, Marti was scoffing at the floor, George was sighing every few seconds. And what was Nora doing?

She was folding her arms and trying her best not to enjoy this too much.

They were in university now. They were in an apartment together. They had no other familiar people for miles and miles to interact with. They were free of the family. Whatever 'this' was, it had to be fleshed out sometime in the next four years.

When she couldn't take the looks of distress on her family's faces anymore, she stepped in.

"No need for you guys to fight about this. Casey, you get the room to the back since more sunlight comes into that one and you like to get up early and plus it is closer to the bathroom. Derek, you get the room to the front since you're less likely to disturb Casey when you get in late from your dates, it's closer to the kitchen and if you angle the TV properly, you'll be able to watch it in bed."

The teens looked at her, then each other. And in their own way agreed.

"Casey can't put any of her frou-frou girly stuff in the bathroom though!"

"Derek it's bathroom soap. Where else will it go but the bathroom?"

Now it was Nora's turn to roll her eyes.

By the time they had gotten the two of them settled and given the little ones dinner, Nora and George were only coherent enough to drive to the nearest Holiday Inn.

"They're exhausting!" George exhaled as he joined her under the clean sheets.

"And they're all alone. For the first time ever," Nora said, switching off the TV.

George frowned, "It's slightly weird how you keep picturing our children ending up together."

"Don't act like you don't see it too," she tapped his nose with a finger.

"Yeah, and I worry. You… you're completely for it."

Nora shrugged, "I just know they're in love."

George shook his head, looked down at her tummy, "You hear that? She just knows they're in love. Hope she doesn't screw you up too."

"Shut up!" Nora hit him playfully.

….

The baby was screaming in one ear and Casey was ranting in the other.

"Wait, wait, lemme put Simon down," she placed the baby in Edwin's lap and walked out of the living room, "What did Derek do?"

"Mom, it wasn't Derek," Casey sighed, "It was Mark, and his idea of a first date. He decided that ruining my new top and thrusting his tongue into my mouth was the best ice-breaker."

"Ew," was all Nora could come up with, "Where was Derek all this time?"

"Who do you think punched him out cold? We had to dunk him with a bucket of water to revive him."

Pride surged through Nora. That was her son.

"Thank you."

"What?" Nora said.

"Not you mom, I mean Derek. Thank you so much."

Nora heard Derek's non committal answer and beamed.

"Tell him to put some ice on that hand and give him a big kiss from me," she told Casey.

"I'm icing," Casey reported, "And I'm kissing, on the forehead."

Nora heard the smack, then giggled when Derek said, "Ugh! Casey germs!"

They hung up, and Nora turned to George who was sipping coffee in the kitchen.

"I love your son," she declared.

"Does that mean you'll change him?" asked Edwin, his arms full of stinky baby.

Nora took pity on him and took Simon back. Ruffling the eight-month-old's soft blonde hair, she couldn't help grinning.

"Sounds like they're finally getting along."

….

They fought endlessly.

They fought over who could carry the kids to the mall for Christmas shopping. They fought over the thermostat. They fought over dinner. They fought over the decorations. They fought over the Christmas movies. They fought over Simon. They fought over Lizzie, Edwin and Marti. They fought over George and Nora.

When they finally packed up the car at the end of the Christmas break and headed back to Kingston, everybody was relieved.

"I can't wait till they get married and get it over with," Edwin muttered as he climbed the stairs.

"You said it," said Marti and Lizzie as they climbed the stairs after him.

Nora looked at Simon, who was on the living room carpet playing with his new toy truck, "Amen?"

The baby babbled.

"Amen."

…..

Emily handed over the tiny baby to Casey, "I haven't even named her yet."

"Any ideas?" Nora asked.

Emily blanked, then shook her head, "None. But isn't she just a sweetie? I wanna call her Marshmallow Puff, because that's what she reminds me of."

Nora and Casey laughed.

Noticing the bags under Emily's eyes, Nora took pity, "Maybe you should go upstairs and lie down, Em. We'll take care of the baby."

Em looked relieved, worried and grateful at the same time, "Are you sure?"

Nora smiled. Young mothers.

"We're sure," Casey smiled at her friend, adjusting the little baby so she could lead Emily to the stairs, "We'll holler if we need you."

"Okay," Emily trudged up the stairs tiredly.

Nora tickled little M.P's tummy, "I remember when you were this tiny."

"That was a long time ago," Casey laughed, "You should say you remember when Simon was this tiny."

"He is getting big, isn't he?" Nora quipped as Simon came down the stairs in front of Derek.

"Is that a baby?" the little four year old asked.

Casey smiled, "Yes, it is! Do you want to hold her?"

Simon shook his head, "Nah!"

Casey narrowed her eyes as she watched Simon run into the kitchen, "That's all Venturi, you know that, right?"

"It's Derek's fault," Nora looked at him for his reaction.

But he was standing on the stairs, staring at Casey and not moving. His mouth hung open a little.

"Derek?" Casey hit him on the side of the face.

He jumped, "Ow!"

"Go see if Emily's sleeping," she ordered him, adjusting the baby to her shoulder.

"Uh… you mean the thing that muttered at me and passed out on your bed is Emily?" he asked.

"DEREK!"

Casey and Nora winced as Simon called from the kitchen, "Definitely Venturi."

…

"Why are we doing this?" Marti asked, sitting on the porch step and fingering her new purple extensions that were thankfully temporary. Simon punched her in the shoulder and she punched him back.

"Because I don't have a picture of all my children in this decade, Marti, that's why," Nora explained. She fiddled with the camera trying to get them all in the shot. Lizzie was busy showing Edwin her soccer ball tattoo (Nora wasn't touching that one with a ten foot pole), Derek was wheeling Simon around and Casey was on the phone. Nora looked to George for some help. He stepped up, pushed two fingers in his mouth and whistled. They stood at attention like the Von Trapps. Almost.

"Thank you! Your mother would like a picture of all you hooligans. So please comply and you all get cake!"

"Yeah!" as much as five out of six of them were too old for such things, they all cheered for the cake.

As they got prepared, she took a test shot.

Lizzie was still sitting on her bike and Edwin had an arm around her. Marti was exuding fifteen-year-old defiance by half smiling, but still managed to look pretty. Simon was pulling a face.

Casey was smiling up at Derek and he grinned back at her. The look that went from one to the other was of mutual amusement.

She wouldn't tell anybody, but this one was her favourite already.

"Alright, pose like you're actually someone's children and not street bums," she instructed.

….

Nora was nowhere near dreamland. She sighed loud and long.

"I hate her."

George grunted, "You can't say that."

"Why not? She is a terrible person. I preferred all of his girlfriends over her. She is absolutely terrible for him."

"Seeing as your perfect person for Derek is Casey…"

"Well, she is, but that is beside the point."

George grunted again and turned to face her. She almost apologized for keeping him up, but she also knew that he knew that she would not sleep until she got it off her chest.

"Tell me you didn't like her."

George shrugged, "I've only met Kennedy once. Tonight. At dinner. And I'll point out, she cooked the whole thing, carried on an entire conversation with you on your display, and conversed with Lizzie entirely in environment-speak. She tried hard."

"She tried to lull us into a false sense of security. And she didn't cook shit," Nora mumbled, then covered her mouth, forgetting they had moved Simon upstairs three year ago. "Honey Pies on Gordon Street delivers."

"I thought that chicken tasted familiar," George said pensively.

"She just wants the ring… and she got it! Did you see Lizzie and Edwin's faces when she flashed it in their faces? They looked disgusted. Derek always did threaten us with a supermodel/pinup/airhead daughter-in-law!"

"She has a BSc. In Economics and she's the heir to a small airline," George said, "Derek could have done much worse."

Nora rolled her eyes, "You just don't see it. She has the education, the money. All she wants is the attractive filmmaker husband to complete the set."

"Derek's a trophy husband?" George asked in confusion.

Nora sighed, "You know what? Go to bed."

…..

"DER-EK!"

Nora looked up from the blueprints she was looking at, and stared at her daughter as she stomped down the stairs, and wondered if she was experiencing déjà vu. But since Casey was in her maid of honour (best man?) dress, she guessed not.

At least, that was the colour they picked out, but other than that it didn't match the dress in the store at all.

"Mom please tell Derek there is no way I am walking into a church looking like this!" Casey screamed.

The champagne dress was cut so low Nora could almost see Casey's navel. The dress itself hugged her tight and the only reason she could breathe was because there was split all the way to mid thigh.

"She looks great!" Derek declared, "Best looking Best Man I've ever seen."

"You're lucky Sam can't make it to this wedding because the only reason I haven't quit being your Best Woman is to save face!" Casey pushed him hard.

"Ouch! Even when I compliment you, you still abuse me!" Derek complained.

Nora looked from one to the other and wondered if they realized they were grown people. And then she wondered if the resurgence of the childish bickering was because they both knew Derek was marrying the wrong person.

"Derek you know she can't wear that," Nora told him, "That dress takes attention from the bride. You don't want to miss Kennedy's arrival because you're staring at Casey the whole time."

The way they both flinched, she knew she had them wired.

"It-it was just a joke, Case," he muttered, "The real one is upstairs at the back of your closet."

"Thank you!" she spun in her champagne coloured heels and stomped back up.

Derek turned from watching Casey's flight upstairs to see Nora staring at him.

"What?" he asked.

Nora went back to her blueprints, "Nothing."


	2. Chapter 2

Nora was trying her best not to laugh. It would look terrible if the step-mom of the groom started laughing at the fact that the bride was currently screaming off her head as she tried dress after dress, all of which looked terrible on her. Her mother was making a futile attempt to shush her as the whole bridal store stopped to look over at where they were sitting. Beside Nora, Abby sat with a ladylike hand over her mouth as her future daughter in law cussed at the dresses that were being paraded out. On the other side of the room, Lizzie and Casey were lamely shooting out compliments to the dress she was wearing.

Nora leaned in to whisper to Abby.

"This is a disaster if there ever was one."

"I can only imagine what she will be like on Thanksgiving," said Abby.

"She's a nightmare every day of the year," Nora muttered so only Abby could hear. To her surprise, Abby laughed.

"Nora, I want you to be honest with me," she turned from the sight of her daughter Marti running towards the flustered bride-to-be with two delicate looking veils, "Should my son be marrying this girl?"

Nora raised an eyebrow, "You want the truth?"

"That implies I won't like it," Abby preempted.

Nora sighed, put herself in Abby's position and tried to be as gentle as possible, "I don't think he should marry her, but that is only because of my personal bias…towards my own daughter."

"Casey?" Abby looked around to where the mentioned young woman was expressing how she really felt silently behind the bride's back and smiled.

"You know them together better than I do. I've heard of the fights and stuff of course, and Marti and Edwin berate me with stories all the time about the sexual tension you can cut with a knife."

For some reason, Nora was expecting every reaction but that.

"You don't have a problem?"

Abby shook her head, "No way. Face it, he'll never see her as a sister, and visa versa. With Derek's reputation, I just kept thinking one day they would just get it over with."

Knowing she had something to do with them not doing that made Nora feel queasy.

She didn't tell Abby, just turned back to the beautiful fiasco that was the dress fitting.

…..

What blind-sided Nora was Em and Sam getting together. She had never thought of them as anything but Casey and Derek's sidekicks. But, little Emma Elisha adored her adopted father and the feeling was definitely mutual. Nora was sure she was the one that brought them together.

As the little girl toddled in the living room between Simon and her mother, Derek made a comment about Emily and Sam getting married. They exchanged knowing looks.

"What? What did I say?" Derek asked with a laugh in his voice. Nora was momentarily distracted by little Emma plopping down on her pampered butt. Her parents looked to see if she was fine, and then looked back at Derek.

"It's just that, you're getting married first out of all of us…"

"Except Kendra," Derek pointed out about their friend who had gotten married two years into college and was having a baby shower in a week.

"….Yeah, except Kendra, then you're trying to get the rest of us married off!" Emily said with shock, "It's like the aliens took the real Derek and left…you!"

Derek smirked, "I just grew up that's all."

Why do I find that hard to believe?" Emily looked at her boyfriend.

"Because you've known Derek all your life?" he supplied.

"Yeah, that's right."

Casey returned from the kitchen where she had been arranging snacks, "Yeah, you've grown up all right. That's why your den is stocked with every video game known to man."

"That's research!" he retorted.

"Research for what? Carpal Tunnel?"

Emily and Sam laughed, and Simon and Emma on the floor stopped playing to watch Derek pull Casey to the recliner beside him. They had a scuffle that was so reminiscent of the old days that Nora felt her heart leap.

Kennedy decided that moment to come in.

The look she gave them in the recliner was so intense, Nora thought the thing would catch fire with her two firstborns in it.

"Derek, may I have a word, please?"

"Sure, babe," Derek got up and followed his intended up the stairs.

When they were all the way up, Emma made a face.

"Did I go invisible or something?" she asked.

"We all did," Simon commented.

Nora sighed, "You get used to it."

…..

If anybody asked, Nora did not think they all would make it this far.

Through the fight Derek and his fiancé had right in front of their parents about whether both his mothers should be at the head table and through the complete disaster that was the pre-wedding picnic, when one of Kennedy's brothers expressed loudly what he thought of her marrying a movie producer.

In all this, Nora watched Casey wear the fakest smile she had ever seen. It was permanently plastered on her face, even when Kennedy told her she couldn't be in the wedding party two days before the wedding. According to Lizzie, "something" happened at the rehearsal that made Kennedy change her mind, even after Sam told Casey the job was hers.

Nora was in her bathroom brushing her teeth when Simon descended the stairs to announce, "Mom, the Dragon is here!"

Nora spat out toothpaste, "Sy, I told you not to call her that!"

"Doesn't change the fact that she is one," her son shrugged, looking so much like Lizzie and Edwin at the same time.

They climbed the steps, in time to hear Kennedy bellow for Derek. He descended the stairs, Marti behind him.

"Morning, honey," he met her brightly. She gave him a look that almost froze the stairs.

"I'm serious Derek! It's either she goes or I go!"

Nora looked from one to the other, "What is going on here?"

"Stay out of this!" Kennedy put up a hand between her and Nora. Nora raised an eyebrow, ready to remind this little girl that she was the queen of this particular castle, and she could kick her out, future in-law or not.

She didn't need to. Derek stepped up, "Ken, you don't talk to Nora like that!"

"Yeah, you don't talk to our mom like that!" Simon yelled. Marti looked like a vicious guard dog behind Derek, ready to attack.

"Ken has this stupid notion that Casey's and my relationship is too friendly," Derek filled her in. Nora nodded, pretending that she didn't feel the very same.

"It's not a stupid notion, Derek! She was all over you! And I saw that look you gave her at the wedding rehearsal! She's on your mind all the time… if I didn't know better, I would think you're a little in love with her!"

The expressions that crossed Derek's face were fleeting, but there was one Nora recognized; it was guilt.

"She's my sister," he argued.

"She is your _step_ -sister, Derek, which you point out all the time except when it's convenient! And I know it's not illegal to fuck your step-sister!"

Nora clamped her hands over Simon's ears a second too late.

"I can't marry you while you have a relationship with her! So is it gonna be me or her?"

"Are you seriously asking him to choose between you and Casey?" Marti asked as if this stance made Kennedy stupid, which in Nora's opinion, sort of did.

"Yes I am!" Kennedy stomped her foot the way Marti used to.

"I can't do that, babe. We have a wedding tomorrow. Why don't we just talk this over…"

"No! Me or her! NOW!"

Nora felt like slapping Kennedy, for about the fiftieth time since she met her.

"I have no choice?"

"NO DEREK!"

"Okay…her."

"…What?" Kennedy looked stunned.

"Casey. I choose Casey. Because she would never let me choose. What kind of guy do you take me for? She's my best friend, Ken. And if you can't trust me around her, you can't trust me at all."

Kennedy was seething. Nora covered Simon's ears in case any swear words were imminent.

"YOU'RE SUCH AN ASSHOLE! YOU'LL SEE, I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE NOBODY WATCHES YOUR DUMB MOVIES! YOU'RE GONNA PAY, DEREK VENTURI!"

"Actually, I think your parents are paying for everything," Derek said bitterly.

"Stupid," Marti muttered. She and Simon exchanged self- satisfied smirks.

Kennedy paled at the mention of her parents.

"I'm leaving!" she announced needlessly, as she was already heading towards the door.

It slammed so hard the whole house shook.

"Well, that was that," Derek sighed, "Nora, please tell me we have pancakes."

"We can, in ten minutes," she told him. Then her mother mode switched on, "Are you okay?"

He nodded, wrapping an arm around Marti, "Yeah. Her family hated me anyway. Where's Casey?"

Nora sighed. It was as if he had forgotten all about Kennedy.

"Getting bridesmaid dresses with Lizzie."

He nodded, "They won't need 'em now. I'm going upstairs; got people to call."

"I'll get breakfast on," Nora told him, feeling so proud of him suddenly.

While she mixed batter, her two youngest flitted around helping her.

"She's really not coming back?" Simon asked.

"I don't think so," Nora said happier than she probably should have. They were all walking around like they had dropped a boulder they had been carrying around for months. Marti did a twirl as she passed the eggs.

"Good! She was making Casey really crazy."

Nora and Marti stopped. "What?" said Simon's big sister.

"She made Casey smile like this," he made a face of strain, and Nora had to fight not to laugh, "She only smiles like that when she is really really really trying not to scream."

"I think he's right, Nora," Marti caught up her hair and grabbed the spoon to stir the batter, "I accidentally went into the bathroom while she was in there once and caught her banging her head on the tiles."

"But you know when she comes homes she's gonna do the usual," said Nora.

"Panic!" they all chorused.

Casey did panic. She walked around frantically, worried and upset that she had broken up Derek and Kennedy. Then she went upstairs and demanded Derek go and apologise to his ex-fiancé. He completely ignored any notion of doing that.

"Good riddance," said Edwin and Lizzie when Nora told them, then said no more.

George got the last word when he came home and got the news.

"Hmm… do we get to keep the waffle iron?"

…

As much as she loved Lizzie and Edwin, sometimes she wanted to slap them with a frying pan, Three Stooges style. Who was this Adam that had his own Hemp product store and took Lizzie on trips to California to surf while she was supposed to be in school? And who was Ashlinn, who apparently was independently wealthy and had asked Edwin to accompany her to her chateau in Nice in the summer following his final year?

Nora dispatched their respective older sibling to knock some sense into them.

When they came back, she started wishing for a frying pan big enough for all four of them.

"You two have to be joking," she looked at them over the island in the kitchen. They both had wistful smiles on their faces.

"Not at all," said Casey, "I believe that Adam and Lizzie are very compatible. He's just as concerned about the environment, and he has a patent pending for..."

"I don't care! Casey, she's skipping school!" Nora pleaded to her daughter's inner keener, which was deeply embedded in all McDonalds.

"She's already made up her classes, Mom, and well on track to passing the exam. I even helped her with cue cards."

Nora shook her head and turned to the other Stooge.

"What's your story?"

"Ash is hot," Derek grinned, "And her house is ginormous! She's got a giant garage with all these vintage cars, and a helicopter! Plus, they're just friends, Nora. They don't have… they're just hanging. She's kinda lonely, with her parents dying and leaving her all that money and she thinks Ed is great company."

Nora sighed, "This does nothing to assure me."

"They're just doing typical college stuff, Mom," Casey attempted.

Nora snorted, "I don't remember either of you jet setting all over the world with companions I've never met!"

"No, but we did do some wild stuff," said Derek, "Case, remember the time we…"

Casey clapped a hand over Derek's mouth.

"Sh!"

Nora looked from one to the other, watching the look that passed between them. Whatever it was, it was juicy.

Derek mumbled under Casey's hand.

"You promised, Derek!"

Derek muttered something that sounded like "I won't tell".

Casey took away her hand.

"Sorry, Nora," he told her, "Sworn to secrecy."

Nora wondered if she could bribe one of the others to see if they knew.

….

"I like him."

"What?" George looked stunned, turning towards her on their bed in the dark.

She sighed in annoyance, "I don't want to, but I do. He's very respectable, and kind, and considerate of Casey's feelings. Kennedy was nothing like that."

"So I remember," George reached out to stroke her bangs, "So, what will Casey and Sebastian's relationship do to your plan to hitch Casey and Derek?"

"Obliterate it," Nora sighed. She guessed she had to give up this silly dream she had about Casey and Derek settling down together. They were too volatile, too different. They were like oil and water, magnetic poles, parallel lines, cliché, cliché, cliché. She had to face facts.

But then she only had to remember the day they fought over rooms and the spark of hope would fire again. She knew Derek loved her daughter, and visa versa. And the only thing that held them back was some stupid promise they had made to her.

"It's too bad," said George, "We were all rooting for you."

"I know," Nora whined, "It's futile. But I'm not giving up yet. Who knows? Sebastian has plenty of time to do something to make me hate him, then Derek will be number one again. For right now though, I guess she can date outside the family."

"Insert incest joke here," George muttered.

...

Sebastian did do something to piss Nora off. He was a big yes-man. Even bigger than Sam.

He did too much to get in her good graces.

"Hi, Mrs Venturi! I baked you a cake," Sebastian greeted her in Easter. It had fluffy icing with marshmallow eater eggs and pink bunnies.

"Isn't it adorable, mom?" said Casey, but her smile looked forced, "And it's really yummy too."

"Oh, really?" Nora couldn't hide the sarcasm if she tried, "Great!"

When Derek came home, he cut a huge hunk of it and gobbled it in seconds.

"Der-ek!" Casey yelled, "Bastian made that for Mom!"

Derek snorted with a full mouth, chocolate cake flying everywhere.

"Watch out, Case," he told her after he swallowed, "Because that's the gayest cake I've ever seen."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" she launched at him, letting loose a barrage of slaps on his chest. He grabbed her by the middle, lifted her and flung her on the couch. The fight continued so that all Nora could see and hear from her position was a stray arm or leg and a few grunts and screams.

George came in, letting out a sigh, "Don't they know they're too old to do that?"

"Never stopped them before," Nora told him.

…..

Casey was livid, George was uncomfortable, Sebastian was even more uncomfortable, Sam was embarrassed, Emily was biting her lip with mirth and Nora was silently praying for peace. It was safe to say that nobody at the table was having any fun.

Well, except Derek.

He made fun of every single thing about Casey and Sebastian. He called Sebastian a nerd several times. He told embarrassing stories about Casey. He was obnoxious.

Nora had never seen her daughter so angry.

Emily excused herself and left the restaurant with Sam, saying she couldn't leave Emma with Dimi for too long, or they would implode her house. The look on George's face said 'take me with you!' Nora almost let him off the hook, but something told her the only reason Casey hadn't committed murder yet was because her mother was present.

"And I had her on the floor right, and I was pulling her hair, and she screamed…"

"Der-ek!"

The entire restaurant stopped. Casey stood, flung down her napkin and scowled at her stepbrother. He gave her a grin of challenge.

"May I talk to you a minute please?" she was restraining herself with such effort, she seemed to vibrate.

"Sure, Case," he gave her an easy smile and left the table behind her.

There was an awkward silence at the table as the two of them walked out of the restaurant. Every pair of eyes in the restaurant followed them.

"How is work?" Nora asked George to break the silence while trying to ignore the fact that they could all see Casey and Derek yelling at each other outside the window. George launched into a story about a case he was working on. Sebastian kept staring out the window.

Eventually, Casey came back in, alone.

"Derek had to go," she lied, "Anybody ready for desert?"

...

It was many years after, when Casey was already married and settled, that Nora remembered to ask what happened to Sebastian.

...

Nora had a feeling this Christmas was going to be great.

Edwin was on vacation from his executive job in Toronto, Lizzie was back home from the Galapagos, Derek had just wrapped a movie shoot in Milan, Casey was home from her book signing in Tokyo, Marti had a few days off from her job a Province away and Simon wasn't too busy with his high school friends to spend time with his family.

All her kids under one roof again made for cramped conditions, but Edwin didn't mind bunking with Sy and somewhere along the way, the six of them learned how to share a bathroom.

Nora had just run the washing machine and headed up the stairs with the laundry, turning down the offers to do the chore from the kids on the couch. She looked down at them. Lizzie, Edwin and Marti were sharing a blanket and a bowl of popcorn as they watched a Christmas movie. Simon was in Derek's old chair, talking to his girlfriend on the phone. The more things changed the more they stayed the same, she thought, and completed the flight of stairs.

She pushed the door to Derek's room... and saw her two eldest spring apart like there was an electric current between them.

Nora's mouth flew open. Were her eyes deceiving her or were they just kissing?

"Mom!" Casey yelled, such scandal in her voice, that Nora was reminded of her daughter at fifteen.

"I can explain!" Derek sounded the same.

Oh, this she had to hear, "Go ahead."

"I was just…" he started to lie, but then he stopped. Suddenly he pulled Casey behind him, looked Nora in the eye and took a fortifying breath.

"Nora I have something to say that you may not like. I'm in love with your daughter."

"What!" Casey yelled from behind him. She tried to sidestep him to face him head on, but he held her in place.

"I think I always have, but I'm not so sure. And I want to ask for your blessing, because I am going to ask her to marry me."

"Der-ek! Are you insane?" Casey yelled again, "Well, I always suspected you were, but you never proved it as much as you have just now!"

Derek shushed her, "Don't you wanna know what she has to say about this?"

"Derek I know what she is gonna say because it's the same thing I would say. We can't get married! That's insane!"

They both turned to look at Nora when they heard her sniffle. She couldn't help it. They were so adorably right for each other.

And they thought she was standing in their way.

"Mom, are you okay?" Casey asked. Nora cried more.

"I was just kidding Nora," Derek tried to make a save in stoppage time, "You know, an April Fools prank."

"It's Christmas, moron!" Casey chastised.

"Christmas prank then."

Nora sniffled happily, "Oh you two! You've made me so happy!"

They stared, "What?"

Nora dropped the basket and gave them both a hug. They were both too shocked to return it.

"You have my blessing," she told the shocked pair, "Go ahead and get married!"

She was wrong. This was not just a great Christmas. This was the best Christmas of her life.

...

"So lemme get this straight," Derek twirled his fork to encompass everyone at the table, "You all thought it was a good idea for me and Casey to get together."

"Yeah," said George. Lizzie and Edwin gave him twin nods. Marti was grinning her head off.

Simon sighed, "We all thought it would never happen."

"And Nora was the one who rooted for you the most," said Marti.

Casey gave Marti a disbelieving look over her Christmas dinner, "No way."

"Nora and Dad were the ones who gave us the whole No Grandbabies speech," Derek said, "When they were done, I didn't even wanna touch Casey with a ten-foot pole."

"Gee thanks," Casey sneered. He smiled at her, which made her smile at him and Nora's heart soared.

"Why do you think we gave you that talk?" Nora confessed, "We could see the sparks flying off you two from that first day when you were fighting over the rooms. If we didn't give you that talk, I'm positive something would have happened."

Casey's eyes narrowed in thought, "So why didn't you say something eventually?"

"I interfered once, and look what it got me," said Nora, "Do you know how hard it is to watch you two dance around each other like you did? I hoped you would come to your senses and just say to hell with what I think so we could all have peace."

Casey and Derek exchanged a significant look.

"This cheesy pasta stuff is awesome, Mom," said Simon, going for his third helping.

"You're like a human vacuum," Marti pushed him gently and he pushed back.

While the conversation turned to other topics, Nora watched Casey and Derek. They were the happiest she had seen them in a long time.

...

Nora fixed George's tie, and he brushed her hair away from her face.

"Finally," he said.

"Finally," she repeated.

"Finally!" Simon yelled as he entered the room. He looked handsome in his suit and tie, "Mom, Dad, Lizzie is finally here and in her dress and Marti is doing her hair, so that is everybody."

"Great! We can get this show on the road. Thank you for the help, honey," Nora went to steal a kiss from her baby boy, and because he was no longer a baby, he turned his face away so she only caught his cheek.

"Bouquet, bouquet, bouquet, bouquet, bouquet," Emily flew in, chanting over and over. She held Emma awkwardly in the crook of her arm while she searched, ignoring the little girls yells to put her down. It turned to George and Simon to rescue her.

When Nora went into the church to check on the guests, she saw Dennis and Abby sitting together. Dennis looked confused. Abby looked ecstatic.

Around the back, Nora found Edwin and Lizzie, who had her hair up and her bridesmaid dress on. The two of them were shaking hands.

"Hi, I'm Edwin, your new brother in law," said Edwin.

Lizzie tapped her chin in thought, "Hmm, I have a stepbrother named Edwin."

"Different guy."

"Oh."

Nora rolled her eyes at them and went on to the room where Casey was getting her makeup done.

The professional makeup artist was doing her best to finish the job, but Casey was leaking tears all over the woman's hard work.

"Honey," Nora cooed, "What's wrong?"

"I just love him so much, mom!" Casey blubbered.

"Good thing you used waterproof mascara," said Marti to the makeup artist.

"But he's such a huge dick!" Casey yelled, "Look what he texted me just now."

Nora took the phone and read.

 _cnt believe I'm marrying the biggest keener n London_

She scrunched up her face, "Not exactly a love note."

"He's making fun of me on our wedding day!" Casey cried, "I swear if I didn't love him so much, I would kill him!"

"You guys are weird," said the makeup artist, "I like it."

The wedding planner poked her head in, "We have ten minutes people!"

Nora watched the makeup artist finish the job, then helped Marti and Emily with the train of Casey's dress as they took their position. Dennis came to take Casey down the aisle. Emily paired up with Sam, Lizzie took Edwin's elbow and Marti and Sy joined hands.

Nora went to take a seat beside George for the ceremony. Derek caught her eye and gave her a wink. But she wasn't fooled. She could see he was nervous.

Nora was sure she saw Derek's breathing stop when he watched Casey walking up the aisle.

The ceremony was amazing, everything Nora had dreamed of. Almost everybody cried, including Abby and Emily's younger brother Dimi.

Later at the reception, Derek pulled Nora aside.

"I wanna thank you."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "What for?"

He took a glance at his new wife, who was dancing to old school pop on the dance floor with Ralphie and Sam, "Firstly, for having such an incredible daughter. Secondly, for giving us that talk."

Now Nora was surprise, "Really?"

He nodded, smiled just like his father, "Yeah. The more I think about it, if you hadn't put that barrier between us, then we would have done something. I mean, me being a horny teenage boy would have basically guaranteed something happening. Then our relationship would have fizzled and faded and we would have resented each other in the end. But now we know each other inside and out, and there's no doubt she's the woman for me."

Nora was so happy she flung her arms around him and kissed his neck. His mother came to take him away to meet her new boyfriend, and Nora had time to discreetly wipe away a tear.

Casey threw the bouquet and surprisingly it fell in Lizzie's lap. Nora did not miss the look she gave Edwin. But Nora was throwing a wrench in that one. Triple intermarriage in one family seemed a bit much.

That evening, Nora was too elated to sleep. She kept smiling at the ceiling.

"Can you believe he said that?" she said. George grunted sleepily.

"He thanked me for keeping them apart. It turns out I have been doing the right thing all this time."

"Good," George mumbled, "Now, Nora?"

"Yes, honey?"

"Are you gonna finally stop worrying about the kids long enough to get some sleep?"

Nora smiled, pulled up the comforter and snuggled in, "I guess I can. Maybe I'll worry about Lizzie dating Edwin in the morning."

They were asleep for a minute before George sprang up in bed.

"WHAT?"


End file.
